Is there such a thing as a hummingbird flower? Yes, but it isn’t a particular flower or type of plant, it is what attracts a hummingbird to it. Nectar is the primary food souce of the hummingbird. Ninety percent of its diet comes from nectar. It may surpise you to discover that the are at least 150 flowering plants which are specialized to help attract hummingbirds. These are some of the things that make plants attractive to hummingbirds.
- Hummingbirds perfer long tubular shaped flowers, because this enables the hummingbird to use its tongue and lap up nectar at the lowest part of the tube.
- Flowers that attract hummingbirds are often red in color, but not solely red in color, and have little or no scent. Hummingbirds aren’t known to have the ability to smell, so they rely on their vision to help them locate the flowers. The is quite different from a bee which relies on scent to help it locate flowers.
- Hummingbird flowers have no platform on which the bird is able to land.
- Due to the active wing movement of the hummingbird, these plants are usually spaced far enough apart to allow for this.
- Hummingbird flowers grow a various entervals, so that there will always be plants growing at different times and these plants tend to bloom for longer periods then other types.
- These plants typically tend to bloom during daylight hours.